2023 Week 4: Team Journal
Build
This week, the Build team was hard at work preparing for the soon-approaching competition season ahead! The past three weeks have been filled with intense brainstorming, prototyping, and testing. After careful deliberation and consideration of our various prototypes, we have settled on a finalized robot design to continue developing for the rest of the build season.
The electrical subteam has been hard at work wiring up various subsystems on different prototypes for the robot. Many forms of intake, placing, and even vision systems were wired up, allowing for efficiency in testing. Problems also occurred with the Kitbot’s speed motor connectors, which impaired the ability of the drivetrain to function properly. This issue was dealt with, allowing the Kitbot to continue functioning optimally. The fabrication subteam continued to teach new members about the different machines present in the techlab. Practice was done with the router and bandsaw, allowing new team members to gain valuable hands-on experience. Additionally, the mill was used to mill bars that would become useful for many parts of the final robot design.
On the design subteam, work was done to finalize the CAD of the robot. Members continued to use Onshape to CAD the drivetrain, elevator, and other key aspects of the final design. The software subteam worked hard to fix some common bugs in the drivetrain’s programming. This included using CANCoders to create a workaround for known Falcon encoder issues. Additionally, members worked on using field vision to autoalign the Mk4 drivetrain with field elements, such as the april tags present on the grid. New code was also written to verify the odometry measurements with the new drivetrain. Overall, the build team had a successful week of designing, programming, fabricating, and assembling. With the build season coming to a close, we hope to finish out strong and hit the ground running during competition season!
Business
4 weeks into the build season, the Business team continued working on various tasks in preparation for the rest of the season. As a team, planning continued for our upcoming Sponsor Night, and updates to our team showcases occurred as well. Our various subteams were also hard at work. Specifically, our finance subteam continued to apply for grants and potential sponsorship opportunities, which will allow us access to increased resources for our team. Additionally, the 5-year business plan was completed, and work continued on the overarching business plan. The logistics subteam was hard at work planning for upcoming competitions, including the Hatboro-Horsham District Event, Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships, and even our own Robbinsville District Event. By starting early with preparations, we hope to make our District Event one of the best yet.
On the Community Outreach subteam, members worked with Trenton Urban Promise to organize a STEM-kit building event, with the goal of spreading interest in STEM and engineering throughout our community. Additionally, the Community Outreach subteam planned and executed a second event with the same organization. The Media subteam worked on organizing and capturing action shots of our team. Updates were also made to our Pit Presentation, which will be utilized at future competitions and our upcoming Sponsor Night. Brainstorming also took place for our Impact video, and production will begin soon. Overall, it was a very productive week for the business team, and we are looking forward to a successful season ahead!